Christmas cards could go up in price by as much as 25% as paper shortages begin to bite, printers and paper producers have warned

‘The paper market is changing, and one of the drivers is the lack of pulp,’ printer Wouter Haan of Reclameland printers told broadcaster NOS. ‘We are paying 15% more for paper because energy is more expensive, and so is labour, ink, and transport from China. If this continues we are looking at a 25% price increase.’

Pulp, made from wood, fiber crops, waste paper and rags, is in short supply because web shops are using most of the available cardboard for delivery boxes. But pulp is also used to make nappies, toilet paper and Christmas cards.

‘I hope supply and demand will balance out at some point in time but for now we are experiencing ‘pulp friction’, De Haan said.

Paper producer Sappi said raw materials had gone up 50% in price since February and energy prices had soared in a short period of time. ‘We have been upping our price from April and we will continue to do so for the next quarters,’ chief executive Marco Eikelenboom said.

That means that consumers will have to pay more for magazines, Christmas cards and calendars, he said.

Hans Duran, of card sellers Touché Cards, said only the cards imported from China would be more expensive because of the explosion in container transport costs. ‘Prices for Dutch and European cards will stay the same,’ Duran said.